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THE COMMISSION OF Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes will submit its final report to the government today.
The report will be examined by Minister Roderic O’Gorman, the Department of Children and the Attorney General before being published.
The commission was set up over five years ago and the submission of the long-awaited report, which is about 4,000 pages long, was delayed a number of times.
The commission’s records – and whether or not they will be sealed for 30 years – have been the subject of much debate in recent weeks.
Ahead of the publication of the report, which is expected later this year or early next year, we’re taking a look at the steps that led us to today.
Why was the Commission of Investigation set up?
The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was established in 2015 to inquire into the treatment of women and children in 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes – a sample of the overall number of homes – between 1922 and 1998.
The commission was set up following claims that up to 800 babies were interred in an unmarked mass grave at a former Bon Secours home in Tuam, Co Galway – following on from extensive research carried out by amateur historian Catherine Corless.
Excavations carried out between November 2016 and February 2017 found a significant quantity of human remains, aged from 35 foetal weeks to two to three years, interred in a vault on the site.
The commission was established in 2015 and was due to report within three years, but a number of extensions were granted – with today being the final deadline.
In February 2015, then-Minister for Children James Reilly announced that the commission’s terms of reference had been agreed at Cabinet.
The commission is chaired by Ms Justice Yvonne Murphy. The former judge also chaired the commission of investigation into the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin, publishing the Murphy Report in November 2009; and the commission of investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne, with the Cloyne Report published in July 2011.
For the commission into mother and baby homes, Ms Justice Murphy worked alongside Dr Mary Daly, retired professor of Irish History at University College Dublin and former president of the Royal Irish Academy, and Dr William Duncan, retired professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin.
Then-Minister Katherine Zappone set up a Collaborative Forum to “facilitate dialogue and action on issues of concern to former residents of Mother and Baby Homes” in 2018.
The forum was set up to “enable former residents to identify, discuss and prioritise the issues of concern to them”.
What did the commission look into?
The commission was tasked with examining a number of issues such as how women and children entered and left the homes; their treatment while in the homes; living conditions in the homes; burial practices; and the prevalence of abuse; forced labour; forced adoptions; forced participation in vaccine trials; and providing bodies of residents who died for medical research.
The terms of reference include the examination of the following:
For children who did not remain in the care of their parents, the commission was tasked with examining exit pathways on leaving these institutions, and to identify the following:
The full terms of reference can be read here.
The commission carried out its work through interviews with survivors and other relevant parties; written submissions; and documents and records provided by relevant authorities and religious orders.
What institutions were examined by the commission?
The following 14 Mother and Baby Homes:
The following four county homes:
Did the commission publish interim reports?
Yes, the commission has produced seven interim reports – which can be read here – since it was set up. These reports contained updates on the commission’s work and detailed difficulties it was encountering when carrying out its research.
Its fifth interim report, which was published in March 2019, contained information about burial practices.
It stated that “major issues about burials arise in the cases of Bessborough (in Cork) and Tuam (in Galway)”.
“It is not known where the vast majority of the children who died in Bessborough are buried…
“More than 900 children died in Bessborough or in hospital after being transferred from Bessborough. Despite very extensive inquiries and searches, the Commission has been able to establish the burial place of only 64 children.
“The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary who owned and ran Bessborough do not know where the other children are buried.
“The burials of children who died in the three Sacred Heart Homes (Bessborough, Castlepollard and Sean Ross) are not recorded at all. More importantly, there is no certainty about where they are buried.”
The report noted that the congregation “provided the Commission with an affidavit about burials generally and specifically about the Castlepollard and Sean Ross child burials but very little evidence was provided to support the statements in it”.
“The affidavit was, in many respects, speculative, inaccurate and misleading.”
In relation to Tuam, the report states: “In the light of a great deal of inaccurate commentary about the Tuam site, the Commission considers it important to emphasise what it has established and what it has not established:
“The memorial garden site contains human remains which date from the period of the operation of the Tuam Children’s Home so it is likely that a large number of the children who died in the Tuam Home are buried there.
The human remains found by the Commission are not in a sewage tank but in a second structure with 20 chambers which was built within the decommissioned large sewage tank…
“The Commission does not consider that any of its features suggest that it was deliberately formed as a crypt or formal burial chamber.”
The reports goes on to state that the Sisters of Bon Secours who ran the Tuam Home were unable to provide any information about the burials there.
“The Commission is surprised by the lack of knowledge about the burials on the part of Galway County Council and the Sisters of Bon Secours. Galway County Council members and staff must have known something about the manner of burial when the Home was in operation.
“The Board of Health and its sub-committees their meetings in the Home. Employees of Galway County Council must have known about the burials. County Council employees would have been in the grounds of the Home quite frequently as they carried out repairs to the building and possibly also maintained the grounds.
“It seems very likely that Galway County Council must have been aware of the existence of burials when they were planning the Athenry Road housing scheme in 1969.”
The commission’s seventh and final interim report was published in June. This document sought a final extension – until today, citing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its work.
“Like every other activity in Ireland, the Commission has been affected by the restrictions imposed in order to deal with the consequences of Covid-19. The Commission and its staff have been working remotely to try to complete the report.
“While the report is very close to completion, inevitable logistical difficulties have arisen.”
The extension to the deadline – until today, 30 October – was granted by then-Minister for Children Katherine Zappone.
When will the final report be published?
The report is likely to be published later this year or early next year – the exact timeline is not clear, but “as soon as possible”, according to the government.
As required by law, upon receipt the Final Report will be immediately referred to the AG for legal advice as to whether it might prejudice any criminal proceedings that are pending or in progress To expedite publication, the AG will ensure that additional resources are in place to speedily review for publication what is expected to be a very lengthy Report.
“All relevant Government Departments and Agencies will develop a comprehensive State response to the findings and recommendations of the Final Report for urgent consideration by the Government,” a statement issued this week noted.
Alice-Mary Higgins makes an important point - these debates have retraumatised many survivors.
— Órla Ryan (@orlaryan) October 23, 2020
"The sense of disempowerment that accompanies this entire legislative process has been extraordinarily unfortunate and has been very traumatising."#UnsealTheArchive pic.twitter.com/K6OnB0uvu6
A State apology, financial compensation for survivors and the provision of mental health supports and other supports for survivors are likely to be recommended.
The report could also lead to criminal proceedings in some cases.
How much has the commission cost?
Its work has cost over €14 million to date.
When establishing the commission in 2015, the government noted that the investigation and associated additional demands on the Department of Children were estimated to cost €21.5 million, exclusive of third party legal costs.
“Since its establishment, expenditure of approximately €11.4 million has been incurred (to Q3 2020) to support salaries, fees and other operational costs relating to the work of the independent Commission and its engagement with former residents and other witnesses,” Minister O’Gorman said earlier this month.
“In addition, the department has also directly incurred costs of approximately €2.48 million for the same period in supporting this work and responding to the commission’s interim reports.
“This includes the costs associated with the separate Collaborative Forum process to facilitate former residents of these institutions to engage on the issues of concern to them and their families.
“Costs for this process include an extensive public information campaign to support the call for expressions of interest from former residents, operational costs such as meeting facilities and participant travel, and external facilitation and related supports.”
Why did legislation over the commission’s records cause such debate and anger in recent weeks?
The Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020 passed through the Oireachtas last week.
The Bill was passed in the Dáil by 78 votes to 67, and by 22 votes to 16 in the Seanad.
The legislation, which can be read in full here, allows the transfer of a database of 60,000 records compiled by the commission to Tusla.
Earlier this month the government approved the text of the Bill, which it said is needed to safeguard the records after the dissolution of the commission.
Many survivors and legal experts expressed anger at the Bill.
Opposition TDs said the legislation was pushed through without proper scrutiny, and none of their amendments were accepted during a number of emotional debates where the powerful testimonies of survivors were read into the record.
Roderic O'Gorman tells Seanad he is "deeply apologetic" for the anguish caused to mother and baby home survivors.
— Órla Ryan (@orlaryan) October 23, 2020
He says the records Bill is a "good law", but in his "haste to fix a legal problem", the communication was poor. #UnsealTheArchive pic.twitter.com/9sWRP6AlCw
When questioned on the need for the legislation – and why it is being rushed through with little scrutiny or debate before the end of the month – O’Gorman said that earlier this year the commission informed his department it had created a database tracking who was in the main mother and baby homes, but “did not feel it had a legal basis to transfer that database and would be compelled by law to redact … valuable information”.
The minister said the Bill would preserve this information and allow the database to be transferred to Tusla, “with whom most of the original records are already held”.
O’Gorman said the new legislation will prevent the information “from effectively being destroyed” and will allow access to it under existing laws.
“The draft Bill is focused on protecting a valuable resource which will assist in accessing personal information under existing law and be hugely beneficial in any future information and tracing legislation,” he stated.
After a number of debates in the Oireachtas, the government introduced two amendments to the Bill:
Will the records be sealed for 30 years?
The legislation debated in the Oireachtas this month does not specifically address the records being sealed for 30 years.
The government maintained it had to seal the records under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004.
This Act states that a commission’s records will be transferred to the National Archives “on the expiry of 30 years after the date of the commission’s dissolution“.
O’Gorman this month said the entire premise of the 2004 Act “is that investigations are held in private” – however, this was disputed by academics.
“That confidentiality applies to the evidence and records gathered by the inquiry. It is central to allow testimony be given freely,” O’Gorman stated.
Dr Maeve O’Rourke of the Clann Project, a group that advocates on behalf of survivors, has disputed that, saying the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 does not require commissions to proceed entirely in private.
As she set out in TheJournal.ie last week, the Act “gives discretion under section 11(1) to every Commission to hold public hearings—something which this Commission refused to do (it even refused Philomena Lee a public hearing)”.
“The 2004 Act also states in Section 12 that a Commission shall disclose to every person who gives evidence to it ‘the substance of any evidence in its possession that, in its opinion, the person should be aware of for the purposes of the evidence that person may give to the commission.’
“The only exception under section 12 to this requirement is that the source of the evidence to be disclosed to a witness may be withheld if given in private unless disclosure of the source is in the interests of the investigation or fair procedures.”
Some people did want their testimonies to the commission be kept confidential – however, others who gave evidence wanted public hearings to be held and for their stories to be public but were not afforded this option.
Where does GDPR come into it?
A number of legal experts said that General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into law in 2018, supersedes the 2004 Act and would not allow for the records to be sealed.
However, the government disgareed, saying it had received different advice from the Attorney General, Paul Gallagher SC.
This stance was disputed by legal experts, with O’Rourke stating: “Neither the Commission nor the Government is permitted under the GDPR to place a blanket seal over the entire archive it holds.”
O’Rourke said even if the 2004 Act “did require ‘sealing’ of evidence (and setting aside the fact that EU law is supreme over any conflicting Irish legislation), the Oireachtas can — of course — change the application of the 2004 Act to this particular Commission’s archive, as this Bill already proposes in various respects”.
Many people have called the government’s statement on Wednesday night a u-turn on the GDPR issue; they describe it as a clarification.
In a statement, the government said that the Department of Children, along with Túsla, would continue engaging with the Data Protection Commissioner to ensure peoples’ right to access their own personal information about themselves, under data protection legislation and the GDPR are “fully respected and implemented; additional resources will be provided where necessary”.
What will happen next?
The government has committed to do a number of things.
It “will work to establish on a formal, national basis an archive of records related to institutional trauma during the 20th century”.
“This will include archiving relevant records and witness testimony by victims and survivors; it will be developed at a suitable site and operated in accordance with the highest international standards; it will be designed in cooperation with professional archivists and historians, as well as with victims, survivors and their advocates.”
Some survivors have called for this archive to be developed at a site on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin, where the last Magdalene Laundry closed in 1996.
The government also plans to “advance” its work on Information and Tracing legislation, with a view to publication next year. This legislation will be aimed at making it easier for adopted people to access personal information.
Previous attempts at implementing such legislation have stalled amid difficulty reaching a consensus on a person’s right to information versus a person’s right to privacy.
The government will also “urgently proceed with the legislation to provide for sensitive and appropriate actions at the burial site at the former Mother and Baby Home at Tuam, Co Galway, and at any other sites where this is appropriate”.
A State apology, financial compensation for survivors and the provision of mental health supports and other supports for survivors are likely to be recommended in the report, as outlined above.
The report could also lead to criminal proceedings in some cases.
The HSE has committed to “expedite implementation of the provision of health and well-being supports to survivors”.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Adoption Rights Alliance (ARA), Justice for Magdalenes Research (JFMR) and the Clann Project, the groups responsible for the recent email campaign on the Mother and Baby Homes Commission archive, “warmly welcomed the government’s announcement on access to information for those affected by ‘historical’ abuses and the concrete measures proposed”.
The groups said they “welcome the government’s acknowledgement that many decades of secrecy have caused ongoing and unnecessary harm to people already profoundly failed by our State and society”.
Over the past few weeks, the citizens of Ireland and people from across the diaspora have joined with survivors of institutions, adopted people, natural mothers and relatives of the deceased and disappeared to reject this continuing abuse. The government has listened, which is a vital first step in attempting to redress the harm caused.
The groups said the government’s commitment to work closely with the Data Protection Commission to fully vindicate the rights of people who experienced forced family separation abuses is “a clear and welcome departure from previous policy”.
“The right of access to personal data is both a core element of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and protected by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), making it supreme over any conflicting Irish law,” the statement noted.
“As the government now recognises, existing EU law requires the Irish State to move away from its reflexive habits of secrecy.”
The groups are calling for the urgent recruitment of data protection law expert committees, who are independent of government departments and Tusla, to administer the data protection obligations of the department and Tusla.
In addition, the groups said “independent expertise should also be provided to the Adoption Authority of Ireland and other controllers of adoption and institutional records”.
The groups’ statement added: “Access to information is crucial to attaining any form of accountability for the serious and systematic abuses of the 20th century. Truth-telling is necessary in order to ensure that similar abuses never happen again.”
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I’ve lived in the Middle East for 8 years. Haven’t seen one refugee in Dubai, Bahrain, Saudi, why are they not taking in their Muslim brothers and sisters?
@Michael: because they only care about themselves.
@Michael: You never will, they have sub categories of workers, whites are level one and a Philippine worker etc are level two so get paid less even if doing the same work. I have a close family member who worked in all three countries
Also, once an Irish person has finished working at 68 or whatever age they retire, they can’t stay in the country, even if they worked for 50 years, you must return to your own country this relates specifically to Bahrain.
It’s actually not the number of refugees that come into Ireland will be a problem, these are small numbers and hopefully they are given the right supports so Ireland can become their home and they can contribute to society.
If you look at the amount of visa’s giving to English colleges, this is how most people are coming into Ireland and overstaying. You can work 20 hrs per week and just sign on for more English lessons for as long as you like. A few years ago, a load of colleges were closed down but its back to its previous numbers. Look at any of the FB pages run by Colleges, they can’t cope with numbers of non EU looking for homestays. If you look at the Garda missing website, go past the first page or , and it is full of Chinese or other non Europeans who have not returned home ( In fairness, I don’t blame them ) but we have a network of people supporting illegal workers in Ireland ( Again the Irish did the same ) This is an area that needs contact supervision but who is doing it. If they are working or have families, grant them a new status and take taxes, rather than leaving them illegal and susceptible to abuse, allow them to remain and contribute to society. https://www.garda.ie/en/Missing-Persons
@Michael: It furthers the EU agenda to take refugees.
Creates demand, a liberal electorate and reinforces socialist ideologies.
@Homestayindublin: dublin is overrun with Brazilians who come here supposed to be learning énglish yet are working and never attending classes.. Go up to parnell St and you’ll be convinced you’ve been time travelled to China.. Go into moore St or any shopping centre and it’s full of so called phone shops with Indian Pakistani nationals, who is doing checks on these so called students, it’s a known fact Pakistani and Brazilian nationals are acting as drug couriers on the rickshaws operating in Dublin City Centre yet garda turn blind eye this government couldn’t give a flying f**k because they get fees for these non students visa’s
@Michael: The Saudi’s can do what they want,whenever they want.Europe (and Ireland) ,the US still kiss their ass*s.
@Michael: “I’ve lived in the Middle East for 8 years. Haven’t seen one refugee in Dubai, Bahrain, Saudi, why are they not taking in their Muslim brothers and sisters?”
There’s at least 0.5 million Syrians living in Saudi Arabia, and 2 million to 3 million Syrians living in the Gulf countries.
Saudi Arabia and other gulf states had generous immigration policy for fellow Arabs before the Syrian Civil War. Syrians were guest workers and students, and subsequent the civil war they bought over family who escape the conflict, increasing their numbers. They are not registered as refugees in Saudi Arabia but as “Arab brothers and sisters in distress”.
“There are 2 million to 3 million Syrians in the Gulf countries, many of whom arrived since the war began, but they are not considered refugees and they are not part of the UNHCR statistics. They are classified as “Arab brothers and sisters in distress” instead of refugees covered by UN treaties. Even though, according to UNHCR officials, only in Saudi Arabia, there were 500,000 Syrian refugees in September 2015.”
@Michael: Because look at how it worked out for Lebanon taking in refugees in 1967, they went into a civil war a few years later
Gunnar Heinsohn anticipated this migration wave a decade ago as he looked at MENA demographics and Islam allows polygamy, excess men must be shipped out
Look at bitcoin and gold, they sense the loss of confidence in government authority , the domestic population can be censored and corralled but large countries can stand firm against USA, German, Saudi propaganda
@Vladimir Macro: and drives the centralisation of policy into EU Commission not the EU Parliament
Brussels does not want any border from Ireland to Poland
Use of ‘racist’ or ‘hate speech’ to censor people
Watch ECB and bitcoin/gold if you have time
@Billy McNamara: does that mean it’s OK not to shoulder their share as well!
@Billy McNamara: oil speaks much louder than words
@Homestayindublin: what did the Irish do
@Michael: A very good point. When was the last time you saw Muslims in Ireland organizing fundraising or seeking support for Muslim people anywhere in the world including their own countries . We are becoming a laughing stock as a country, a nation of fools.
@Michael: Is it because they are Sunni Muslim countries and the Sunni and Shia muslims are in a sectarian battle these 1400 years or so???
@Michael: saudis do the military action in yemen they dont do mercy for migrants, the migrants should be looked after, now with the election coming up and the health crisis the housing crisis please dont vote fine geal or fianna fail they are landlords and speculators with no care for the voters or citisens
@Matthew O’Kane: and your problem with landlords is?
Send UN to Syria create a safe zone problem solved . Oh wait simple effective ideas don’t make sense .
@JDB: like the safe zone in the Balkans in the late 90s. That worked out well.
@Alan McArdle: it sure didn’t that is why you learn from failures and do not repeat .
@JDB: are you going to volunteer to stand on the firing line between the warring factions?
@JDB: yes let the UN become another NATO by having it invade a sovereign country without its consent. Because this worked out so well in North Korea in 1950!
@JDB: they’ve been living in refugee camp in Lebanon having fled their own country.
@JDB: cos twould be just that easy. Wonder why no one else thought of it? Ur a genius.
@JDB: “Send UN to Syria create a safe zone problem solved ”
Already done.
Turkey is already monitoring a de-escalation zone (“safe zone”) in Idlib, the last rebel stronghold, it was set up in 2017 as part of the Astana Peace Process. Turkey has 12 military outpost in Idlib monitoring the ceasefire.
Not that this helps much (and neither would the toothless UN). There has been two military campaigns led by the Syrian government and Russia against Idlib in 2019, the most recent and ongoing fighting caused the displacement of 250,000 from south east Idlib in the last few weeks.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/final-de-escalation-zones-agreed-astana-170915102811730.html
@gm_cmanning: No need to be so condescending and patronising. JDB was potentially expressing a valid point!
@Dom Layzell: nope he wasn’t. Feel free to articulate how the UN would set up a safe zone in Syria?
War’s over.
@Chewns: country still in disarray, infrastructure destroyed, lack of food etc.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: sounds a bit like Ireland
@Damien Barton: what part of Ireland are you (not) living in?
@Chewns: No, it’s not over. The last rebel stronghold is currently under attack (population 2 to 3 million) and the fighting has displaced a further 250,000 from the south east of the provenance. Just because it is rarely reported these days, we’re fatigued by the conflict, it does not mean the war is over.
Also, a lot of refugees are reluctant to return as they are on the loosing side, they fear retribution/revenge. Turkey has twice invaded Kurdish areas in Syria, it ethnically cleansed the Kurdish the attacked areas and has attempted to replace the displaced population with Syrian Arabs refugees. Turkey had 3.6 million Syrian refugees, they were only able to place 250,000 Syrian Arab refugees in former Kurdish areas, mostly in Afrin (the north west corner of Syria). Tukey does not want any more refugees.
The Turkish military are also in Syria monitoring the de-escalation zone (“safe zone”) in Idlib, the last rebel stronghold, it was set up in 2017 as part of the Astana Peace Process. Turkey has 12 military outpost in Idlib monitoring the ceasefire. It wants to stop the fighting and prevent any more refugees from entering Turkey. This is not very successful.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/final-de-escalation-zones-agreed-astana-170915102811730.html
Syria war: More than 235,000 people flee rebel-held Idlib region – https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50927434
PR stunt
Most welcome.
@Waj Kahn: God love them. The conditions where they left must be terrible for them to consider going into that place. It really is despicable. I only hope they get the opportunity to return soon.
@DaMoons:
Ok Please advise have you ever been in Mosney in last 20yrs
@Thomas Ryan: I have, I delivered Christmas shoe boxes last year. I donated this year, but didnt deliver personally.
@DaMoons: Yes the videos I’ve seen of the place are grim enough. But hopefully these families will be happy during their time there.
@ObsidianShine:
Sorry. I know area well. Hard working people in Mosney who try and meet needs of residents. I could think of worst places to be and prob one of the better direct provision centres. Plenty of open spaces.
Apart from Irish winter weather much better than Lebanese refugee camp. Also very pleasant local area that does its bit.
Also people linking immigration with housing crisis that is wrong
This is the correct way to bring people into the country. Families and help them settle into communities.
@Chris Mc: They only ever advertise the families.
The Air Corps base in baldonnel regularly receive flights full of adult muslim males.
Specifically no women and children.
Makes one wonder what’s going on.
@Vladimir Macro: I wonder, can you actually prove that?
@Vladimir Macro: why don’t you explain what’s going on so?
@Chris Mc: Apparently it is 75% men according to UN figures (did not confirm)
Islam allows polygamy so must export out excess men
@ObsidianShine: Yes. Air crew in baldonnel post pictures(private Twitter accounts) of the cabins when they arrive here. All African adult males, no women or children.
@Mark O’Carroll:
Apparently is always a good word to use in a sentence that you make up.
@Vladimir Macro: genuine ones from war torn countries go throu Dublin Airport ,surprised Leo is not up getting photo shoot. Baldonnel base on the other hand ,back door who know,s?
@Vladimir Macro: You need to get a life. Seriously!
@DaMoons: someone asked my opinion. Exactly what has happened in the UK.
@Vladimir Macro: that’s absolute nonsense. Did you make it up yourself or did you find it on the internet?
@Vladimir Macro: Wow, what an incredibly racist comment.
@Vladimir Macro: Manchester. Birmingham. London comes to mind
@DaMoons: you want to open your eyes, and for some reason the above statement may be perceived as toxic????
@John Mulligan: yes its true I’ve lived there….
@Vladimir Macro: that is unquestionably racist. Care to articulate why you wouldn’t want your race “diluted”?
@ObsidianShine: of course he can’t.
@Mark O’Carroll: links? And if they’re valid refugees what’s the problem?
@Mark O’Carroll: and according to the Irish Refugee Council and Asylum in Europe 51.8% of refugee applications to Ireland in 2018 were adult males.
@gm_cmanning: To preserve your own race. To be able to identify with your own people. Like the travellers, like the aboriginals like any tribe that has ever walked the earth. To be proud of your heritage, nation and identity.
@Vladimir Macro: All very infantile aspirations.
@Laz Mahon: Hope they find a new home in Ireland’ – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar welcomes 129 refugees
The latest arrival via special chartered flight into Baldonnel Air Base brings the total number of asylum seekers to 1,022 in addition to 792 programme refugees who have already been granted refugee status.
@Vladimir Macro: So what actually what is your race – take a DNA test you might get a few surprises!
@Grainnewhale: I’m not questioning skin colour. I really don’t care. I’m questioning the preservation of culture heritage and identity. I celebrate my history the same way Leo Varadkar is celebrating his culture in India this new year. India is currently stopping the immigration of Muslims into the country. Is Leo protesting this? No. It protects his identity.
@Vladimir Macro: You really should get out more – might clear your brain a bit
@Vladimir Macro: You are confusing extremism with ordinary religion.
@Vladimir Macro: You are in the wrong country if you support the Ayran theory
@Vladimir Macro: That’s a lie and a bad one at that, one plane has only ever brought in asylum seekers to Baldonnell and that was one from Turkey a few months ago and wasn’t covered up it was all over the Irish aviation pages.
There’s no hundreds of planes going into Baldonnell because they’d be seen on Flight radars (inb4, no they turned off transponders) going in and out. I know people in Baldonnell, I was there a couple of months ago and your talking complete nonsense.
Also to clarify, of those 187 or there about who came in, it was men women and children so again stop lying.
@Laz Mahon: the people who work there and the people who monitor flights on a constant basis, Baldonnell has only ever been used once to bring in Asylum seekers and it was men, women and children.
Stop believing all these conspiracy theories.
@Vladimir Macro: well that’s racist as all hell. Thanks for clearing it up
Yet the Government let our own die on the streets right accross the road from the Dail
@Justin Hanley: cos the two things are directly linked and it’s a zero sum situation.
This is how immigration should be done, and not by letting them pass through 4 or 5 different eu countries before landing in ireland,those should be returned to the firat eu country they land in, full families brought over safely is the way it should be
@Karl Charlie: but how would all the interest groups and the legal mob get paid?
Wonderful news! Wishing them all a much better life here in Ireland. Céad Míle Fáilte!
Welcome
How are you going to fit them all in your house charlie
@Kathleen O Connor: again not how immigration works. Does someone need to draw you a picture?
According to RTE it’s 11 families, 50 people.
Not 50 families.
@gerard carey: because rte is always accurate in its news reports
@Damien Barton: in fairness both RTÉ and thejournal get their information from the same 3 distributers all Western nations do – Associated Press(USA), Reuters(UK) and AFP(France).
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: That’s only for International News.
@Damien Barton: Yes, it was 50 refugees, not 50 families. Here’s the press release:
Minister Flanagan welcomes Syrian refugee families at Mosney:
· 50 Syrian refugees resettled under the IRPP today
@gerard carey: It will be the equivalent of 50 families when they finish bringing in their extended families.
@Gino Brancato: They aren’t entitled to bring extended families under Irish law. So you’re wrong. Refugee resettlement typically tries to bring intact family units to Ireland to allow for the best chance of a successful resettlement. Family reunification requests under the refugee resettlement programs are rare and exceptional. In recent years they have only occurred when Ireland took Syrian asylum seekers from Greece, who subsequently gained refugee status, some of whom were separated from their own families at the time and some of whom were minors. However this is not the resettlement programme described here which ireland undertakes with UNHCR.
Still haven’t been told who exactly is paying for those refugees.
@Kathleen O Connor: we are. You didn’t know that? And once they’re citizens they contribute, on average, far more than they cost
@Kathleen O Connor: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-22683261 Not John McCain…
@gm_cmanning: is that a fact
@Vladimir Macro: yup it is.
https://www.e-ir.info/2016/03/07/refugees-economic-burden-or-opportunity/
@gm_cmanning: Ireland also receives an EU grant of about €10,000 per refugee to help to integrate and resettlement refugees. This is used to support resettlement in local communities.
So the way to solve the humanitarian crisis in former war zones in the ME, is to take their young males, and women and children put them on planes fly them to the other side of the world to an alien culture in the middle of winter where the will be incarcerated and institutionalized and cooped up in former holiday camps and dilapidated hotels in isolated rural Ireland with no services?. Cardinal Sarah says this is 21 century slavery and will be seen as such https://www.lumenfidei.ie/mass-migration-is-a-new-form-of-slavery/
@padr4: ah those church lads. Finger on the pulse of everything. Have never put a foot wrong. Shur if we all just obey them twill work out grand…oh wait
@gm_cmanning: smart ass
@Liam Mernagh: agreed but I’m also not wrong.
@padr4: Planned resettlement is not mass immigration. The people referred to in this article are family groups. Not single males. Try at least to get your facts right before you post nonsense.
Uups….. nice to read all those positive comments! Where are all the usual clowns fearing for jobs and national identity and so on?
@Johannes Baader: all outside on their scramblers
@Johannes Baader: they’re still protesting in Achill and Ballinamore posing as ‘locals’.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: to be fair, wtf are the gov doing sending refugee’s over to Achill. Complete madness. Galway, Athlone, Castlebar even would have been a better post to bring them.
@Johannes Baader: Right here, look at CSO crime figures, look at the gold price at all time highs in 70 currencies
EU is about corruption and cronyism , this is why Fine Gael & Germans worship it
@Da Vid: Because there are millions of these people Da Vid , they will literally be in every town in Ireland
Look up Gunnar Heinsohn if you got time
@Mark O’Carroll: care to share those CSO figures as opposed to alluding to them? And while there are millions of refugees you do get they’re not all coming here?
@Mark O’Carroll: wtf has gold prices have to do with refugees fleeing war torn conflict and our willingness to show kindness and empathy towards them? Focus your anger on something more positive I’d say.
@Mark O’Carroll: Tinfoil alert!
Welcome #StrongerTogether
Welcome
The very best of luck, hope all works out for them
@Finbar Redmond: T suppose will have them down for dinner asap?
Has experience of other nations taught us nothing.
@Gerard Casserly: Ireland is not Sweden. Sweden took in very large numbers of asylum seekers from a variety of nationalities, not refugees. Ireland is engaged in a small scale highly structured and focussed refugee resettlement programme. Chalk and cheese.
And let the xenophobia in this comments section begin…
@Blockboy Bertie: spot on there budd. Let the racists come and show their true colours and blame the refugees for the incompetence of the current leaders.
@Blockboy Bertie: what is wrong with xenophobia comments when their is no effort to educate people about the Syrian situation and what the government is trying to do and how Syrians are humans and want mostly what we want .
@Waj Kahn: we are one race the human race there is no racism on this planet just hatred and ignorance .
@JDB: plenty of racism and the only way to overcome it is to recognise it for what it is. In regard to the refugee crisis it’s cultural racism.
@JDB: “there”. Consider yourself educated. Now take the rest of the evening off.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: if you can tell me of another race besides the human race on this planet you will win some awards.
@JDB: https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(sociology)
What awards am I winning? PS you really need to tell all the racists they don’t exist. It seems to have skipped everyone else’s minds
@Blockboy Bertie: Various of xenophobia exist, but the generally accepted ones is dislike or fear of foreigners. Have you a problem with any person having the right to be afraid or to dislike ?
@Gino Brancato: The Minister for Immigrant Parties is at it again. It is not enough that the relevant authorities deal with the refugees but this Fine Gael lightweight has to go for the big false stage Irish Cead Mile Failte.. It is a pity he cant’t show the same enthusiasm for the thousands of native Irish people who need homes and who are at their wits end with worry and uncertain futures.
@Blockboy Bertie: Which is worse xenophobia or muslim sectarianism, Syria is mainly a Shia country and all the refugees seem to be Sunni muslim, why is that???
@Waj Kahn: All racists are xenophobes but not all xenophobes are racist.
When this Fine Gael publishes the true stats on the number of foreigners that are living here and the rate they are arriving they will stand some chance of getting a positive response for their initiatives on refugees.
@Gino Brancato: google is your friend
@Gino Brancato: Foreigners living here? The two biggest groups of foreigners living here are U.K. and Polish nationals. Many of course are now proud Irish citizens. There is also a smattering of Spanish and Italians. And some other nationals. Most of whom are now Irish citizens. Damned foreigners.
Islam is not peaceful it’s a civilization take over.
Islamophobia had been “invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to stop discussion of a major issue”.
@Laz Mahon: You want to cop yourself on working for the HSE
Wellcome to ireland ..
Fecking he’ll Mosney give them a week and they’ll be running back to Syria. Is there not anything better than that kip.
@Pat O’Brien:
Ok Pat when was last time you There?
Are you from local area?
Do you know local people?
@Pat O’Brien: they’ve been living in a refugee camp in Lebanon. Hopefully they’ll settle quickly, get residency and be able to begin a new, safer chapter in their lives.
@EillieEs: honest questions here where are they going to live? How will they afford rent etc or is that just something everyone else has to worry about. I just don’t see the fairness in pushing other people down the list. The homeless situation around this country is a disgrace. Countless people cannot afford to heat there homes or feed themselves already in this country. So how does this government welcome more people in to join this over crowded system is beyond me. Has common sense disappeared completely. The next recession is going to destroy this country for good
@Nowa Huta: They’ll afford rent when they start working, like the vast majority of people in this country do. The government has a legal obligation under EU Law to take in asylum seekers, which originates with the 1951 Geneva Convention, all the information is at the below link, probably a better place to look rather than asking random people in a Comments section. https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/asylum_en
@Nowa Huta: i agree with the sentiment that we should look after our own first…charity begins at home etc etc. However , we are part of the european union and member states are asked to help out with difficult situations. To put it into some context Greece is handling 1 million people – so Ireland agreeing to take 4000 sounds a lot – but really compared to the scale of the problem – is not really. This is would like if back in WW2 if other countries said nope it’s the 1940s and we are broke and poor- we cannot help jews or other refugees to be accommodated from a war torn country….now having said all that – my personal opinion is that it would be better to split the world into 4 bigger regions and the wealthy countries shuold have to solve the refugee problems in their own region – the Middle East has oil and gas revenues and are super wealthy – they should be forced to tackle the problems in that part of the world – China can afford to deal with Asia issues , The EU should deal with Europe etc etc – I do not believe that sending people from say the middle east to Ireland should be required in any sensible long term solution to people displacement from wars ( created and controlled by the wealthy states in the first place )
Now we will have to support the soccor crowd as well.
Hopefully they can set up a mosque so they can practice their religion and beliefs as well as integrate into society.
@Ronan O’ Brien: The chances as I believe them to be are that they are those in the White Helmets and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were? I would think they would be Sunni Muslim rather than Shia Muslim and yet Syria is a mainly Shia muslim country?
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47243867
@Ronan O’ Brien: How many Muslims do you know who have “integrated into society”
@Gino Brancato: What’s wrong with you – ‘Live and let live’
@Gino Brancato: What’s your definition of integration? Watching a GAA match and talking rubbish about the next parish? Ordering by numbers at the Chinese because you can’t pronounce the names? Only talking and fraternising with people from your own social class, hating the English? Wearing only stuff you get in Penneys? Quad bikes for Christmas?
@Ronan O’ Brien: you could do with a trip to the UK on a lesson on integration.
Islam is not compatible with western ideologies. Period.
@Gino Brancato: Many in fact. Of course it depends on what you think integration is. I suspect your definition might be quite narrow.
@Vladimir Macro: Absolutely bawlderdash – have you been to any of our hospitals lately
@Grainnewhale: youre confusing wages and immigration. Yes pur hospitals are full of immigrants. We train enough doctors and nurses here every year. We just export them to better paying countries and import cheaper labour. Hence your Muslim brothers
@Vladimir Macro: No I’m not Vlad, I’ve worked all over the world – never had a problem with anyone of any faith – only ultra rights like yourself.
@Grainnewhale: the only thing you have added is labelling me racist, far right, and an extremist.
Not once have i labelled you anything.
Nor have you come up with an argument as the why we should forget our indentity history culture and heritage?
@Vladimir Macro: Actually I never mentioned the word ‘Racist’ it was you used that word – I just think that you are deluded and haven’t a clue what culture and heritage actually is. You might be surprised that here in Ireland we are all descended from Bronze Age people who migrated west from the Stepp region during that era – migration has been around a long time. So what’s new!
@Vladimir Macro: You are stoking hatred here by lying about constant flights going into Baldonnell only bringing in Muslim men which is complete bull.
@Marcus Suridius: Regular flights. Adult Muslim males of African descent. If that incites hate then I’m glad because it shows there is something seriously wrong and we should be prioritising women and children.
@Vladimir Macro: Better suck it up Vlad – you can’t do anything about all these so called ‘adult males of African descent’.
fine geal electioneering fine geal fianna fail dont care about the migrants the workers or anyone who isnt a banker landlord or speculator really , the migrants should be looked after im all for that, fine geal is just panicking now with the election coming up and the health crisis the housing crisis please dont vote fine geal or fianna fail they are landlords and speculators with no care for the voters or citisens or migrants
Would Minister Flanagan not be better served going to Dublin Airport and dealing with the tragedy that is Irish emigration. Watch families wave goodbye to there children and grandchildren, grandchildren that will reared in foreign countries that the grandparents will never see because of government policies that are anti – Irish. They stand in the airport and cry and still elect people like Flanagan who goes to butlins to welcome Muslims.Inflated property prices kept inflated by councils (them being the biggest purchasers of property) so people cannot afford a house and the markets cannot adjust to basic wages. Charities that advertise homeless Irish yet house Syrians and foreigners. Imagine a country that exports our own children by providing no chance of a future while embracing , financing and housing Muslims who’s religion and there leaders are sworn to the downfall of western society.Where are you true Men of Ireland. Why do we stand by and allow this to happen, elect politicians who are Oikophobic. We use to call them west brits. Now the brits are looking after there own with brexit, when will we start looking after our own first.
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